Paperthin Hymn
by LastChancetoBreathe
Summary: A cop's death always hits the department hard. But Joe Riordan's death has unexpected consequences for the Reagan family...and they come in the form of a teenage boy named Jamie.
1. Chapter 1

Alright, it's time to branch out into a whole story this time. This is going to be an AU, so be prepared for some role switching and general deviation from the _Blue Bloods_ storyline.

My usual warnings/prescriptions/notes/commentaries/monologues apply : No slash, no romance, no M rated stuff, but be prepared for a healthy dose of angst, violence, and shenanigans. =P

Disclaimer: I do not own _Blue Bloods_.

* * *

><p><em>These roads never seemed so long<br>Since your paper heart stopped beating_

_Leaving me suddenly alone.  
>Will daybreak ever come?<em>

_~ Anberlin, Paperthin Hymn_

Bloody didn't begin to cover it.

Danny had seen a lot of crime scenes, but Rob Henderson and Joe Riordan's deaths were one of the more brutal ones. According to onlookers, he and his partner were gunned down by rival gangs long before any backup could reach them.

"It's going to be a mess tracking down who killed them." Jackie came up behind him, hands on her hips. A sad frown tugged at her brow. "I hate it when our guys get caught up in some gang's quest for power. It's so senseless."

"I know, Jack." Danny glanced at Joe's face. "And Joe here wasn't much more than a rookie. How old was he? 22? 23?"

"Somewhere around there. He have any family?"

"Not that I heard him talk about, but we can dig around. We need to let Henderson's family know."

"Okay. I'll also check with the canvassing units, see if we can get anything useful." She stepped back out of the alley where the bodies lay and headed back to the yellow tape near the entrance.

"Hey Reagan!" A new voice called.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"We got the lieutenant from precinct 12 here."

"Alright, let him in."

A tall, lean man with sharp cheekbones strode into the alley. His grim face became grimmer as his eyes fell on the two fallen officers. "You never want to receive these kind of calls, Detective."

"I know, sir." Danny stood up from his crouch next to the bodies. "Do you have any idea what gangs might be behind it?"

"Gangs?" The man's eyebrows rose. "What gave you the idea there was more than one?"

"Well, we were told by witnesses that there was some sort of conflict between two gangs and the officers were caught in the crossfire."

The lieutenant was already shaking his head before Danny had even finished speaking. "There's only one gang of significance in this area that you should be looking at. Crime family is more like it. The O'Neil family."

"Irish gang, huh?"

"Your people, Reagan."

"My people are the ones in the NYPD and two of them are lying right here. I'm going to find the guys who did this."

"I know you will, Danny."

Danny saw that he was getting ready to leave. "One more question for you."

The lieutenant paused, waiting.

"We're contacting Henderson's family, but I don't know much about Joe. Do you have contact info for any family in the area? Maybe a girlfriend that we could notify, perhaps?"

A sad smile twisted the lieutenant's lips. "Joe doesn't have any family...or, at least, not any that he kept in contact with. He was a lone wolf, liked to keep to himself. He was friendly enough to his fellow cops, but any time someone asked about his personal life, he'd clam right up..."

"But?" Danny prompted, sensing there was something more.

"Well...he sometimes let slip that there was a Jamie in his life. He never said much about her, but...whoever she is, he loved her more than anything."

Danny jotted that down in his notes. "You ever see this Jamie?"

"No, but I got the impression she's around Joe a lot in his down time. I can give you his address in case you want to swing by and see if she's there. Even if she isn't, chances are she'll drop by eventually."

"I'd appreciate that. Thanks, Lieutenant."

The man wrote down an address on a business card and handed it to him. "Do what you can to catch these guys, Reagan. You have our full cooperation, let us know if there is anything we can do to help."

"Thanks, I'll probably swing by your precinct later to see if I can find anything helpful in their lockers."

The lieutenant nodded and walked away, passing Jackie as she headed back to her partner. "Get anything?"

Danny held up the card. "Joe's address. Apparently he has an elusive girlfriend who will want to know he's gone."

"You want to go now?"

"Yeah, I think I've done all I can do here." He slipped the card into his pocket. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>"Not the best neighborhood, is it?" Danny wrinkled his nose as he and Jackie made their way around a couple of overflowing trash bins to the old stairs that led up to Joe's apartment.<p>

"Not all cops can afford nice-looking digs like ours, Reagan," Jackie said.

"I'm not sure if _I_ can afford my digs." They made it up to the fourth landing and headed down the hall of doors, looking for Joe's apartment. Just as they were about to reach the end of the hall, they came to a door with the numbers peeling off, barely legible. "This is it. Apartment 144."

Jackie knocked on the door. "NYPD, open up!"

They waited a few seconds, but heard nothing from inside.

Jackie tilted her head towards the doorframe. "It is a little odd to be knocking on the door of a dead guy, especially one whose girlfriend's never been seen. Maybe he made her up so that his cop buddies would get off his back."

Danny shrugged. "Maybe. But we both know that silence is not the best way to determine if someone's home or not. I got Joe's key, let's take a look inside."

It took some jimmying to get the key to work in the old lock, but it finally turned and the door opened with a depressed whine. Danny pulled out his gun and stepped into the dim apartment, Jackie just behind him. "NYPD! We're coming in."

He found a light switch on the left wall and flicked it on. As light flooded the area, they found themselves in a narrow entryway that opened directly into a living room. Despite the rough exterior of the apartment complex, Joe's living room was clean and orderly, with few items cluttering the space. "Looks like Joe was a neat freak."

Jackie nodded, impressed. "Wish I could keep my apartment this clean."

A cursory sweep of the room revealed no one and nothing out of place, so they moved on to the adjoining kitchen. The same meticulous attention to detail carried on into this room, not even a dirty dish in the sink. Jackie quirked an eyebrow at the neatly folded dishtowel. "I don't know, Reagan, I'm starting to buy into this whole girlfriend thing. No way Joe was this clean."

"A guy can be clean too!" Danny protested.

"Name one that you know."

"I'll get back to you on that."

"Uh-huh."

Danny walked back into the living room, gun held loosely at his side. He eyed the spotless living room again with incredulity. As he turned towards the small hall he'd seen earlier that he assumed led to the bedroom, a slim shadow lurking there made him stop. But what really caught his attention was the gun gleaming in the shadow's hand. He brought his own weapon to bear. "Hey! NYPD! Put the gun down!"

Jackie darted back into the room as a soft voice responded, "What are you doing here?"

A _male_ voice.

"Why don't you put the gun down and step out of there and we'll tell you why we're here, deal?" Danny edged slowly to the right so that Jackie could come in closer and cover the guy from a different angle.

"I don't make deals with intruders...even if they're cops."

"Well, according to my info, this is Joe Riordan's apartment and I know you aren't him, so you must be an intruder too. Put down your gun and come out where I can see you."

"Where's Joe?" The gun didn't waver. Whoever held it knew what they were doing.

Jackie decided to try her hand at talking to him, "We're just looking for Jamie, okay? We don't want to hurt anyone, we just need to talk to her, okay?"

A small snort escaped the shadow. "Shows what you know."

Danny tightened his grip on his weapon. "What do you mean by that?"

The gun pointed at them dropped and the shadow moved forward. "I'm Jamie."

The light fell onto a teenage boy a couple of inches shorter than Danny. He had dirty blond hair and sad blue eyes, but the most distinct feature were the scars that decorated the left side of his face. They were jagged and deep, some crisscrossing over others, probably caused by a serrated knife. He clenched his jaw defiantly, but Danny could see he was scared.

"Well, we can safely rule out girlfriend," Jackie sighed before she held out one of her hands. "You wanna hand over that gun?"

Jamie hesitated a second longer, but put the gun in her grasp.

Danny relaxed, holstering his weapon. "Good, now that we've got that out of the way, we can have a civil conversation."

"How old are you?" Jackie asked as she put away both of her weapons, a slightly disturbed look on her face.

Jamie sneered at her. "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm eighteen."

"Try again," Danny smirked.

The kid lost none of his hostility, but he dropped his gaze. "Sixteen."

Jackie started muttering to herself.

Jamie glared at her. "And before you go and start thinking disrespectful things, Joe and I are brothers."

"Brothers?" Danny's eyebrows rose, but even as he voiced the question, he could see the resemblance between the two. He swallowed. This made their visit that much harder. A glance at Jackie assured him that she was thinking the same thing.

"You still haven't answered my question." Jamie folded his arms over his chest. "Where's Joe?"


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for all the lovely reviews, favs, and follows! I appreciate each and every one of you all. =)

Any references to police procedure are what I could dig up on the internet. I am by no means a police officer nor do I know much about police proceedings, so if there are any mistakes regarding them, please forgive the poor, ignorant author. Better yet, tell me what I did wrong, I'd love to correct the mistake. =D

* * *

><p><em>Who's going to call on Sunday mornings?<em>

_Who's going to drive you home?_

_~ Paperthin Hymn._

Danny took a few steps back into the living room, gesturing to the couch. "Why don't you have a seat?"

"I don't need to be coddled. He's dead, isn't he?" Jamie didn't blink. Only a muscle jumping in his jaw betrayed that this conversation affected him more than on a surface level.

Jackie gave a slow nod. "He and his partner were ambushed by some gangs. I'm sorry for your loss."

The boy sniffed and jerked his head in understanding. "I told him he was going to get killed doing this, but he didn't listen. All he ever wanted to be was a cop and look where that got him."

"Listen, we're going to do everything we can to track down the ones who did this, okay?" Danny said. "In the meantime, do you have any relatives or friends you could stay with? Anyone we could contact for you?"

"I'll take care of it." The boy reached a hand towards the scars on his face, rubbing them absentmindedly.

The response was not encouraging. "I'd feel a lot more comfortable if we could take you there ourselves. You know, explain the situation and all that."

"I'm sure you would, but I can take care of myself." Jamie hesitated a moment, before adding, "There is one thing that you could do for me though."

"And what's that?"

"I want to see Joe's body."

Jackie let out a slow breath. "I don't think -"

"He's my brother and you can't really keep him from me, can you?" He challenged.

"No...we can take you down to the ME's office. They've probably cleaned him up by now," Danny threw in the last bit a little callously to test whether the kid really had the guts to go see his brother on a slab.

Jamie met him with a steady gaze, as if he knew what the detective was up to. "Let's go."

The trip down to the medical examiner's office was a quiet one, but the tense silence was thick enough to almost count for conversation. Danny kept chancing glances back in the rearview mirror. Jamie was always in the same position, head resting against the glass window, expression blank. The light that flicked by from the streetlights outside fell across his scars in grotesque patterns. Danny couldn't help but wonder what caused them, but just as he got up the nerve to ask, Jamie caught him looking and shifted so that his left side fell into shadow.

Danny kept his eyes on the road after that.

The medical examiner was not happy to see them. "We've barely finished up in there and you already want to come in and poke around?"

Danny jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "The kid's his brother, won't leave until he sees him."

Her face softened in sympathy as she caught a glimpse of the younger Riordan. "Is he sure? The bullets managed to miss Joe's neck and head, but still...it isn't a pretty sight."

Danny sighed, looking back at Jamie, who just glared back at him. "Yeah, he's sure."

They found themselves in an exam room with two occupied tables, presumably one belonging to each of the fallen officers. The ME stepped forward and carefully folded back the sheet on the first table.

Jamie sucked in a breath as he saw Joe's still face. He stumbled forward a couple of steps until he was close enough to touch the hand still covered by the sheet.

Jackie, the ME, and Danny shuffled backwards to give them privacy, but Jamie just stood there, staring down at his brother. His hands trembled.

Jackie leaned in close to Danny, "Do you think we should pull him away from there? I mean, maybe he's in shock. He may talk tough, but he's just a kid."

Danny held up a placating hand. "Just give him a minute."

Jamie spoke then, a soft, broken whisper that could hardly be heard, "What did I tell you, Joe? All this hero business was only going to end one way. It was too much to hope for that we'd stick together."

He pulled away abruptly and faced them, eyes suspiciously bright but his cheeks free from tears. "I'm done."

"You sure?" Danny asked.

"Y-Yeah." He took one step away from the body and paused. "Do...I mean...the police, when they..."

"When they what?" prompted Jackie.

"You guys pay for funerals of your own, right?" He sniffed. "I mean...if you don't...he's gonna be here a while. I...I ain't got a lot of cash."

"Yeah...yeah, we have some options we can look into. We'll just need you to come down to the station and fill out the appropriate paperwork. But we've got plenty of time to do that. There's no rush to get it all done tonight." Danny eyed the boy with concern. The kid looked like he was one step away from punching someone in the face and the detective wasn't keen on getting battered.

Jackie picked up on his unease. "In the meantime, are you sure there isn't someone we can call to come get you or that you could stay with tonight? I'd really hate to leave you alone after all this."

Jamie walked past them without a word. He pulled up the hood on his red jacket and shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he headed back to the entrance of the medical examiner's office.

They hurried after him, Danny catching up and snagging hold of one of the boy's sleeves. "Hey, talk to us here. We're trying to help."

"Just take me back to my apartment." Jamie jerked his arm free and kept walking.

"But it's not your apartment, it's Joe's. And I don't want to leave some emotionally compromised minor alone in that shady complex. I'd rather not get a phone call tomorrow saying you decided to get involved in some sort of gang war."

"Danny," Jackie warned.

Jamie whirled around, forcing both detectives to stop. It was harder to read his expression under the hood, but the tense lines running down his shoulders and arms were enough to set them on edge. "I'm not going to do anything stupid. I just want to go home. Is that too much to ask?"

"Danny," Jackie tugged at his shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

They withdrew a couple of paces, keeping an eye on the agitated teen. Danny could tell his partner was confused. He himself wasn't so sure he could explain his reasoning to her. She tilted her head forward, keeping her voice soft, "What's gotten into you? You're usually much more sympathetic to the victims. You're making this kid uncomfortable."

"Jack, we give this kid any leeway and he's gonna rabbit. You can see it all over his face - he's got nothing left to tie him here, he knows his brother's funeral is going to be taken care of, and he doesn't want to get anyone else involved. We let him go to his apartment and I guarantee you he'll be gone tomorrow."

She frowned, glancing back over at the kid. "I don't know, Reagan. He wouldn't want to miss his own brother's funeral."

"I'm telling you, he's not going to stay. And I don't want to leave a grieving teenager wandering around homeless."

"So what are we going to do about it?"

Danny thought about that for a minute. He couldn't forcibly detain the kid, but if he could convince the teen that he had to have someone to take care of him..."Follow my lead, okay?"

"Okay." She sounded anything but convinced as they headed back to the kid.

Jamie had slumped against the wall while they were talking, but he straightened up when they approached. His eyes darted back and forth between them, trying to get a read on the situation. "Can we go now?"

"Give me the name of your social worker. I'll put you guys in touch and then I promise I'll be out of your hair," Danny said.

Jamie's lips pressed together.

"Come on, kid, we don't got all night. We all want to go home."

The boy shoved his hands deeper into the pockets of his hoodie. They could see his fingers working nervously under the fabric, but no answers were forthcoming.

Jackie stepped in. "You gotta know, kid. Joe must have spoken to him or her at some point unless...you're not in the system."

It was just the sort of break they were looking for. Jamie didn't exactly flinch, but he couldn't keep his eyes on any fixed point, as if he were searching the air for some sort of cover story to get him out of this mess. "You _are_ in the system, right? Joe would've had to take legal guardianship and there would be record?"

Jamie pulled one hand from his pocket and tugged at his hair so violently it made both detectives flinch. His worn shoes squeaked against the tiles as he took a few paces back and forth. That stoic face was crumbling and Danny almost wished he hadn't pushed so hard when he saw the damage under the facade. "I just want to go home, okay? Can't I do that? I've lost my...my..." He had to swallow a couple of times to get the words out, "...my brother. I need to...I just..._please_."

Danny's face softened and he put a gentle hand on the teen's shoulder. "Hey, we're trying to help you out, okay? It's because you've lost someone important that we don't want you alone. I'll make you a deal, alright? Hey...hey...listen."

It took a few tries to get the agitated boy to look at him and when those soft blue eyes met his, Danny ached to see the grief and pain in them. A sudden idea came to him. "Why don't you spend the night with me and my family? Get some rest, then we can discuss plans in the morning. How does that sound?"

Jackie's tone turned sharp, "Danny -"

He held up a hand, not taking his eyes off of the kid in front of him.

Jamie was wavering, grief and exhaustion taking their toll on his resolve. It was easy to tell the moment he gave in. All tension ran out of his slim frame in one go, shoulders slumping, hands dropping, jaw loosening enough to get out one word, "Okay."

"Okay," Danny confirmed, straightening up and ignoring the glare his partner gave him. "Let's go to the station and see if I can clear this with my lieutenant."

* * *

><p>It wasn't nearly as easy to convince his lieutenant to let him have the kid stay at his house as Danny thought it would be. Even with Jackie's reluctant support, it took all of his Reagan charm to convince the man not to call social services until the morning and it was only because Jamie didn't already have a social worker.<p>

"One night, Reagan, that's all. We're not a daycare."

"That's all I'm asking for, lieutenant. I'm not trying to adopt the kid. I have enough trouble on my hands with Jack and Sean."

Jackie snorted. "And wouldn't they just love to have an instant older brother?"

"Ugh, don't even joke about that." Danny rubbed a weary hand over his face. "Where's Jamie?"

"He's over in the foyer. Take care of him, Reagan. I'm going to head home."

He watched her gather up her things and leave, trying to gather the energy to tell Jamie the latest development. In the rush of trying to get things in place for the teen, Danny had forgotten for a moment that this was an officer involved shooting, which meant longer tours and trying to crack down on a highly organized crime family. The next few days were going to be long.

He headed for the entrance, pausing in the doorway between the two areas. His heart sunk a little more as he caught sight of Jamie. The boy had his elbows resting on his knees, his face buried in his hands. No matter how long the next few days would be for him, they would be excruciating for the boy who'd lost the only family he had left. Any lingering frustration over trying to find a place for Jamie drained out of him as he walked up to the kid who couldn't even lift his head up from his hands.

"Hey Jamie, you ready to go?"

The boy dropped his hands from his face, but didn't look up. "I guess."

"C'mon then."

Danny called Linda to give her a head's up on the situation, but as soon as he got off the phone, it was another silent car ride all the way to his house. As they pulled into the driveway, another thought came to the detective. "Did you want to go back to your apartment first? I mean...to grab some clothes and whatnot?"

Jamie shrugged and got out of the car. "It's just one night. I'll survive."

Linda met them at the door, a soft smile on her face. "Welcome, Jamie. I'm Danny's wife, Linda. I wish we could've met under better circumstances, but I'm glad you're here."

The kid didn't seem to know what to do or say in response. He stood there, fidgeting with the hem of his hoodie.

Linda sensed his discomfort and ushered them both in without further delay. Any attempts to get Jamie anything to eat or drink were met with blank stares and they finally gave up on trying to get him to use some of Danny's clothes for pajamas. He flat-out refused to let them wake their boys so that he could use one of their beds to sleep in.

"The couch is fine. I can sleep anywhere."

_But you don't have to_, Danny wanted to say as he looked at the scarred, sad face. He knew better than to press the issue though. The kid was at the end of his rope and any more pushing was liable to alienate him further. "Alright, there are more blankets in the chest over there if you want them. Don't hesitate to wake us if you need anything."

Jamie sat on the couch, looking lost and small, on the brink of a breakdown, just waiting for a quiet moment to let go.

"Goodnight Jamie."

It took Danny a long time to fall asleep, but he must have managed it somehow because the next thing he knew, Linda was shaking him awake. "Danny!..._Danny!_"

"What? What's wrong?"

"Jamie's gone."


	3. Chapter 3

Alrighty folks! New chapter! Thanks for being awesome readers and reviewers, keep being your amazing selves!

Onward ho!

* * *

><p><em>I just want one more chance<em>

_To put my arms in fragile hands._

_~ Paperthin Hymn._

"Jamie's in the system," Jackie said as she threw a file into the middle of Danny's desk.

He looked up from his fruitless internet search on the teen, dumbfounded. "Wait..._what_?"

She nodded, a small smile of satisfaction on her face. "Yep, but he's not under Jamie Riordan. I called social services and gave them a description of him and they finally got back to me. His name is Jamie Nielsen. His legal guardian is Jack Nielsen."

Danny scanned the information she'd given him. As he flipped through the pages the social workers had, he grew more confused. "How does Joe fit into all of this? I don't see a mention of him anywhere. And what about -"

Jackie had that all-knowing smirk on her face.

"Okay, what?"

"Joe Riordan took his mother's maiden name. He used to be Nielsen."

"So he _is_ Jamie's brother?"

"Yes."

"Any reason for the name change?"

"Nothing on file, but my hunch is that he disagreed with his father's business. Jack Nielsen is a lieutenant in the O'Neil crime family."

"Terrific," Danny sighed. "Wanna bet Joe might've been involved with them and that's what got him and his partner killed?"

"Or that the gang found out he was a cop and took offense? Could be why he took his mother's name...didn't want to be associated with the gang."

Danny nodded. "That _does_ sound more like the Joe we know, doesn't it? But how does Jamie fit into all of this? If Jack had custody of him, what was he doing at Joe's?"

"Sounds like we need to pay this Mr. Nielsen a visit. If nothing else, maybe he can tell us where Jamie might go." Jackie grabbed her hat and coat as she spoke. "And I'm driving this time because I don't feel like living in fear of my life today."

"Wimp." Danny grinned, but followed her lead just the same. "Where are we going anyway? Irish Gangsters Anonymous?"

Jackie shot a scowl over her shoulder. "There's a pub that the O'Neil family is known to frequent. We'll start over there."

"Of _course_ it's a pub."

* * *

><p>Finding the pub turned out to be easier than anticipated. As they pulled onto the street where it was located, they could see a sizeable crowd gathering in front of the building, staring at some sort of tussle between a couple of burly Irishmen and another person that they couldn't quite make out from where they were parked.<p>

Shouts and the sound of punches landing met their ears as they got out of the car. Jackie grinned at him. "The call of your people, Reagan."

"Shut up," he growled and started shoving his way through the crowd. "Alright, everybody, break it up. C'mon! Police!"

The bystanders got out of the way with some prodding, but the brawlers kept at it, their attention focused on someone Danny still couldn't see due to the size of the Irishmen. A second later, he didn't need to see as a familiar voice spoke up, "Just let me talk to him, you bastards! I know he's in there!"

"He doesn't want to talk to a brat like you," one of the men said and threw a punch. The blow didn't land, but it sent the guy stumbling off balance enough for Danny's view of the fight to clear.

Just as he suspected, Jamie stood in the center of the ring of three bouncers, fists clenched, eyes blazing. He had a split lip and a new shiner decorating his face, but he was holding his own. Every time one of the brawlers tried to catch him, he danced out of the way and landed a few punches himself. He carried himself well and if Danny hadn't been so worried and angry that he'd run away, he would've been impressed with the kid's skill.

As it was, he stepped forward into the ring himself, barking, "Alright, police! Break it up unless you want me to have you all arrested right here, right now."

The Irishmen were smart enough to back up, if somewhat begrudgingly. Jamie's stance faltered as he caught sight of Danny, but he didn't drop his fists. If anything, after his initial surprise, his expression took on even more defiance as he stared at the detective.

Danny shook a finger at him. "You and I are going to have words. But before we get to that, what is going on here?"

There was a few seconds of silence and then everyone started shouting their version of events.

"Hey!" Jackie yelled, pushing her way up beside Danny. "One at a time now, come on!"

The men realized for the first time that they had a rather attractive woman in their midst and calmed down with a couple of apologetic smiles sent her way. She rolled her eyes and picked the shortest one standing closest to Jamie, "Okay, you. What's your story?"

"We're just doing our job, detective. The kid's underage, trying to order at the bar. He put up a fuss when we wouldn't serve him and we kicked him out. Now he won't leave," the last was said with a glare at the kid as the bouncer rubbed his bruised jaw.

Jamie straightened up, insulted. "That's _not_ what happened!"

"Hey!" Danny yelled. "You'll get your turn. Now, is this the story the rest of you are going to stick to?"

The men looked at each other, shrugged, and nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much what happened."

Jackie switched her focus to Jamie, who was visibly fuming. "Alright, kid, what's your story, besides running away from cops who are trying to help you?"

Jamie dropped his fists. He didn't blurt out his version of events as quickly as they hoped though. He sucked at his split lip, seeming to reach a decision. "I was just looking for a fight. I haven't been thinking clearly. I'm Irish and I solve my problems by drinking or fighting and since I'm too young for one, the other is all I have left."

Danny put his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes to the sky, praying for patience. "Despite the fact that you were all yelling about Jack Nielsen? C'mon, Jamie, I expected lies from these goons, but what kind of benefit could you get from backing up their story?"

"We know Jack is your father," Jackie added, "So why don't you drop the act and cooperate?"

The teen registered surprise for the second time in ten minutes, but instead of appearing relieved, he only looked more pensive. "What do you mean?"

Danny gave up trying to reason with him and addressed the three bouncers, "We're looking for Jack Nielsen and I'm ninety-nine percent certain that Jamie's looking for him too, so why don't we all quit stalling and get the guy out here?"

The three men exchanged uneasy glances. The short one finally answered, "He's not here."

"Now why don't I believe you?" Danny reached out and snagged Jamie's sleeve, dragging him along to the door of the pub. "Let's go see if we can find Mr. Nielsen, eh Jackie?"

She followed behind him, warning the crowd, "You guys try anything and we'll throw you all in jail for the night."

The pub was dim and smoky. Only a few patrons lingered around the bar or at the tables scattered around the room. All of them eyed the newcomers with suspicion.

Danny kept one hand on Jamie's arm while he took out his badge with the other and flashed it to the room. "NYPD! We're looking for Jack Nielsen!"

They all just stared at him.

Option B then.

He turned to Jamie. "Okay, kid, you wanna help yourself? Tell me if you see your old man."

But Jamie's eyes were already scanning the crowd and the detective could almost feel the disappointment coming off of him. "He's not here."

"You sure?"

The look Jamie gave him could've melted icebergs.

"Oookay then." He walked over to the bar, dragging the teen after him.

The bartender scrubbed at the counter with an attention to detail that was admirable, especially considering the counter was spotless already.

Danny rapped on the counter right under his nose. "Hey you! Know where I can find Jack Nielsen around here?"

"I get a lot of people coming through here, you're going to have to be more specific," he said.

Jamie had enough of standing quietly at the detective's side. He pushed forward, slamming a fist on the bar top. "You know who he is, Kevin! Where is he hiding now?"

"Hey!" Danny grabbed the kid by the collar and dragged him back a few paces. "You want me to lock you in the car? 'Cause I will."

"You're not going to get any answers the way you're going about it."

"Yeah, well, my way's also not going to get me arrested." Danny turned his attention back to the bartender, who was trying and failing to keep the amusement off of his face. "As for you, Mr. Rusty Brain, if you happen to remember what Jack Nielsen looks like, give me a call."

He slapped a business card down on the counter.

"Tell him I know what he did to Joe!" Jamie yelled.

"Alright, that's it." Danny started muscling the teen out the door.

The kid squirmed and twisted, but couldn't get free, so he settled on shouting, "Tell him I know! Tell him to stop being a coward and come face me himself! I'll punch his face in!"

Jamie started adding more colorful descriptions as they got outside and Danny clamped a hand over his mouth. "Okay, stop threatening the nice people in front of police officers. Jack, you wanna drive?"

"Sure." She was fighting hard to keep the smile off her face, but she ended up giving up and grinning all the way to the car.

* * *

><p>Danny stared at Jamie.<p>

Jamie stared back.

After his rather impressive display at the pub, the teen was maddeningly quiet now. He refused to say how he ended up at Joe's and why his father wouldn't come to claim him now. There were also no explanation offered as to why Jamie felt compelled to run away last night.

Danny'd finally had enough and called social services. The lady on the other end knew exactly who Jamie was and the lack of surprise in her voice as he mentioned Jamie's reticence told him this was not the first time the teen had caused problems.

But, despite the stubborn set to his jaw, Jamie was hurting and grief radiated through all of his tightly coiled limbs. It was that fact alone that kept Danny from shaking some answers out of the kid.

Maybe some fairly innocuous questions would be answered. "How old are you anyway, Jamie?"

The glare leveled at him made Danny feel like he's asked if the teen would like to cut off his own arm. But he got an answer, albeit through gritted teeth, "Sixteen."

"Still in school?"

"I'm not a dropout."

True. In fact, the files on Jamie indicated the kid was smart, smart enough to be in advanced classes. Danny was just curious to see how far he would get with this line of questioning. "Do you enjoy it?"

A shrug.

Danny counted to ten before asking his next question. "Got any plans for college?"

"Why do you care?"

"It's a simple question."

"There are no simple questions when it comes to cops."

Before Danny had a chance to wonder where that little grain of wisdom came from, there was a commotion at the entrance to the bullpen. Gormley poked his head into the room. "Danny? Social Services?"

"Yeah, send them in."

Jamie stiffened up even more in his chair, wrapping his arms tightly around himself.

To Danny's surprise, it wasn't just the social worker in her neatly pressed suit heading towards them, but also a Latino mother and son who trotted along behind her. The kid pushed ahead of the two women when he spotted Jamie. "Where ya been, man? I've been trying to get a hold of you all day!"

Jamie straightened up, some of the tension leaving his body. "Vinny?"


	4. Chapter 4

Annnd we're back, folks! Sorry about the delay, got busy with Thanksgiving/Christmas merriment and mayhem. Speaking of which, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

Thank you for all of the lovely reviews/favs/follows, you all are awesome. =)

Also, updates will probably be a little more sporadic just 'cause Christmastime always gets a little crazy around my place.

Thanks so much!

* * *

><p><em>I thought you said forever,<em>

_Over and over. _

_~ Paperthin Hymn_

The stunned look didn't leave Jamie's face as Vinny swept him up from his chair and gave him a hug. The teen's arms didn't move from his sides to return the hug, but he seemed moderately more relaxed now that he had a friend here.

Vinny pulled back, holding his friend by the shoulders. "Why don't you answer your phone, man? We went by the apartment, we went to your favorite coffee shop, I called you, like, six billion times, and I couldn't find a trace of you! And now I see you've been giving the police a run for their money when you should've just called me!"

"I was...I didn't..." Jamie's brow crinkled in confusion. "What are you _doing_ here?"

The social worker stepped forward, offering her hand to Danny. "What you should have done in the first place. I'm Amanda Brockhurst, Jamie's social worker."

Danny shook her hand, still trying to puzzle out the connection between the three of them and the reticent, angry teen. "Danny Reagan. If you're his social worker, then you gotta know why he was with Joe instead of Jack. He won't make a peep."

Any tension that Jamie lost at the sight of his friend came back three-fold when the detective brought up the sore subject. He pulled away from Vinny, switching his glare from Danny to Amanda.

She was not impressed. "What have I told you about authority, Mr. Riordan? Things will go much better for you in the long run if you simply cooperate. Why don't we all have a seat?"

Danny grabbed some chairs from nearby workstations and dragged them over to his desk. As he did so, Amanda gestured to the woman and the boy. "This is Margarite and her foster son, Vinny. They've known the Riordans for a while now."

"Nice to meet you," Danny murmured as they all sat down in the cramped space. As he stared at all the faces looking back at him, he hardly knew where to begin. Jamie looked ready to bolt at the slightest movement, while Vinny had a hand on his arm as if to prevent him from doing just that. Margarite fiddled with her purse, trying and failing to reassure both boys with a couple of awkward smiles.

The only one who seemed perfectly at ease was Amanda. She met Danny's gaze with cool, gray eyes. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, Detective Reagan. I will try to answer them to the best of my ability, but you must know up front that Jamie's case is a rather unorthodox one."

"Now why doesn't that surprise me?" Danny said.

Jamie's jaw flexed.

"Where would you like me to start?" The woman continued.

"The beginning is always a good place."

Amanda nodded and took a few moments to collect her thoughts. She clasped her hands together as she decided on a starting point and spoke, "Both Joe and Jamie have been in the legal custody of their father since their mother passed away about four years ago. Joe was nearly eighteen at the time, Jamie twelve."

Danny shot a glance at the kid and wasn't surprised to find him clenching onto the sides of his chair. Jamie seemed to be a very private person., one not liable to take kindly to being talked _about_ instead of talked _to_.

"As soon as Joe turned eighteen, he left his father's place, left New York. None of us are certain where he went for the next couple of years." Her head tilt in Jamie's direction assured Danny that at least _one_ person knew what had happened in the interim, but wasn't willing to say what it was. "Jamie remained with his father until Joe came back two years later. Joe then joined the police force, but an...incident on the home front convinced him to come to me with a deal."

Danny quirked an eyebrow. "I didn't know you could make deals with social workers."

Amanda cleared her throat. "Not...typically. But, I was willing to consider one for the Riordans. Joe wasn't in a financial state to support Jamie at the time and he knew it, but the situation with his father was getting out of hand. Joe didn't want Jamie to go into foster care, so we agreed that he would remain under Jack's custody in name only while he lived with Joe."

"What about the whole "Joe couldn't support Jamie" thing?" Danny pressed.

"I can work too!" Jamie finally spoke up. His cheeks were pink, either from embarrassment or anger. "I wasn't about to let my brother try to make ends meet on his own. We're going to -"

His voice trailed off as he realized that he was speaking about Joe in the present tense. Vinny squeezed his arm. Jamie offered him a watery smile, but he didn't say anything else.

Danny scrubbed a hand over his face. "And what is your plan now? Does Jack get the boy back?"

Amanda's cool exterior broke a bit, a hint of anger seeping through. "We haven't been able to get a hold of him."

Jamie snorted

Margarite leaned forward. "I'll take the boy. My house is all in order. It may be cramped for a time, but we're willing to make it work."

Danny had almost forgotten about her, she'd been so quiet. "And you're Vinny's foster mom?"

"That's right, man," Vinny said with a wide smile. He slung an arm around Jamie's shoulders. "Jamie and I are old friends, we go to the same school, we were practically in diapers together, yada, yada, yada."

"Vinny!" Margarite scolded.

Amanda didn't seem to mind the interlude. "We do believe this is the best situation for Jamie right now. He'll be in an environment that's comfortable for him and with people who care about him as he copes with his loss."

"He _is_ right here too," Jamie grumbled, looking every bit a petulant teenager.

Danny sat back in his chair. "Okay then, what do _you_ think of this arrangement?"

The boy looked mildly surprised at being addressed so directly. But the surprise faded into a grim expression. "It doesn't matter what I think. It hasn't mattered for a long time."

"That ain't true, man!" Vinny gave him a good-natured punch.

Jamie didn't respond.

Danny sighed. "Well, I guess since he won't make a decision, I will. He can stay with you until I am able to get in contact with Jack Nielsen. Once that happens, I have no guarantee what we will do next."

Amanda nodded. "We can't expect anything more from you. Thank you for your time and cooperation...and for taking care of Jamie for a while. I understand he was a bit troublesome?"

Danny looked at the boy for a long moment, trying to get a read on him. Jamie seemed to be done with any further displays though. Everything about him was closed off. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

Amanda stood up, followed by Margarite and Vinny, then Jamie, who practically dragged himself out of his chair. "I guess we'll be going then...until we learn from you about any new developments?"

"Yeah."

"Here's my card." She handed him a crisp card, then turned to her charges. "Let's go."

Jamie trailed after the little group, tugged along by Vinny. He paused before he could get too far from Danny's desk and glanced back. "Could you let me know if you find my dad?"

"That depends."

"Depends on what?" Jamie stiffened.

"Depends on if you're going to talk to him or punch his face in. After today's display, I'm not too sure it's a good idea to let you near him."

The kid looked down, a muscle jumping in his jaw. "My dad and I aren't particularly close, but...we're family. And we both loved Joe...in our own way."

"Is that why you were screaming at him for, and I quote, 'What you did to Joe'?" asked Danny.

"He probably didn't mean it." Jamie shrugged. "He never really means to get us in trouble, but he does."

"What did he not mean this time?"

The teen shook his head. "Doesn't matter. But...could you please let me know if you find him?"

"Okay," Danny agreed, if only for the chance it would give him to crack the puzzle that was the Riordan/Nielsen clan.

"Thanks." Jamie turned and followed his companions out the door.

* * *

><p>Jamie scooted into the backseat of Amanda's car. Vinny scrambled in after and he could feel the weight of those warm brown eyes rest heavy on his shoulders. He didn't acknowledge their concern, keeping his gaze fixed out the window on the comings and goings of the police officers and detectives.<p>

If he just didn't _think_, if he kept his focus on the people around him, he wouldn't notice the grief tightening his throat. There was no way he could simply keep on doing his normal routine. Detective or not, Danny didn't know Joe like he did and he might miss something that could help him solve the case. And if Jamie could find out what happened to his brother, maybe the emptiness wouldn't be so complete. Maybe he'd have a chance to live again...or at least breathe without feeling like his lungs were about to collapse.

Amanda pulled out of the station, chatting about something or another.

"Can we go to my apartment?" Jamie blurted.

They all feel silent and he could practically _feel_ their disapproval.

"I'm not going to cause any more problems, I promise. I just...I want to grab my stuff," he explained.

"Jamie," Amanda sighed. "We can always send someone else over to collect your things. I really don't think it's wise at this -"

"Please. They won't know what I want or they'll forget something." _Or, rather, they won't bother to look through Joe's stuff for clues for me. _"I'll be quick, I promise."

"C'mon, Mandi," Vinny charmed. "Give the kid a break. I t won't take long. We'll be in and out in twenty minutes tops."

"And how did _he_ turn into a _we_?" Amanda asked, quirking a wry eyebrow in the boy's direction. Jamie could tell she was softening though.

Vinny slung an arm over his shoulders, which was really uncomfortable given that they had a seat in between them and his efforts to draw Jamie close caused the seatbelt to cut into his neck. "We're a complete set, you wouldn't want to break up the collection now, would you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, but you only have twenty minutes and Margarite and I are going to be with you every step of the way."

"Fine," Jamie agreed, since it was the best offer he was going to get. He didn't speak another word until they reached the apartment.

* * *

><p>He couldn't get past the threshold of Joe's room.<p>

Just staring at the empty bed was enough to make his stomach turn and keep his feet immobile. Memories pressed down on him, curling at the edge of his thoughts and he swallowed hard, trying not to remember the last time he'd seen Joe. He didn't want to think of all the things he could have said and didn't because he thought he'd see Joe again. If he went down that path, he'd never come back again.

A hand on his shoulder startled him out of his reverie. Vinny's concerned eyes darted from him to the living room, where Margarite and Amanda waited."I got most of your stuff, man, but if you want to grab something from Joe's room, you'd better do it now. They're not going to wait much longer."

Jamie gave a jerky nod. "Yeah, I know. I just..."

"I can come with you if you want?"

"Thanks, but it's something I need to do myself." And just like that, he had the strength to walk into the room.

He wasn't sure what he was looking for, so he picked up a couple of items that reminded him of his brother: an old sweatshirt, the worn copy of _The Brothers Karamazov _that Joe always kept on his nightstand, a picture of the two of them at a baseball game. All three items were tucked carefully into the duffle bag Jamie had slung over his shoulder.

He scanned the rest of the room, looking for anything else he could take with him. Joe's desk was stacked with important-looking papers and a small moleskin notebook. He wandered over and rifled through the stack, but they were all bills or police guidelines and handbooks. He gave up halfway through and picked up the notebook instead.

The pages were filled with dozens of notes in Joe's neat handwriting - tips and tricks of what to do on the beat or in a certain situation and even, Jamie noted with a smirk, the location of the best restaurants. Some were underlined with a small "Jamie" written next to them.

His heart ached and he closed the journal without reading further, tucking it in next to the other items.

"Time to go, Jamie!" Vinny rapped on the doorframe, startling him into knocking the papers off of the desk. A soft _thunk_ caught his attention amidst the flutter of paper.

"Just a second." He turned to gather the papers, stacking them haphazardly on the desk once more. As he gathered up the last few bills, he saw a small ring on the floor.

He picked it up.

It was gold and kind of boxy, like a college ring. The center of the ring had a compass or something similar carved into it that was hard to make out in the dim light. The symbol rested on a blue background and around the edge, he could make out a few words if he squinted hard enough: _The Blue Templar_.

"Jamie!" Vinny called again.

"Coming!" He slipped the ring into his pocket and left the room.


End file.
